6 Powerful Benefits Of Meditation

Meditation has lots of amazing benefits for our health, our levels of stress, our ability to focus and our general well-being. It is practised by many successful legends like Oprah Winfrey, Clint Eastwood and Paul Mcartney and more and more scientific research is highlighting it's powerful benefits.

Here are six fascinating ways we can benefit even through just five minutes of meditation a day...

1. Meditation Increases Your Ability to Learn

"Meditation leads to neuroplasticity, which is defined as the brain's ability to change. For much of the last century, scientists believed that the brain essentially stopped changing after adulthood."

“I think it’s very important to remain true to your nature… I meditate a lot. That’s a huge tool in trying to calm myself, get away from the crazy circus of it all, have a focused mind as well as be a kinder, considerate person in the world.”

- Benedict Cumberbatch

Through regular meditation our ability to control our mind increases which means we can put our worries and negative thoughts to one side quicker. This naturally has a big impact on our stress levels as Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington and Hollywood a-lister's Jennifer Aniston and Benedict Cumberbatch have shown us.

3. Meditation Improves Your Memory

Meditation directly affects the structures and functions associated with the brain's memory. It has a positive impact on our ability to focus and this allows us to be more in the moment. This means we can memorise new information more effectively and better recall information we've already learnt.

4. Meditation Can Increase the Quality of Your Sleep

Meditation enables us to enter a deeper sleep and to wake up feeling well-rested. This is because our mind is calmer with fewer thoughts racing through our heads.

5. Meditation Can Increase Your Ability to Listen and Communicate

Through being calmer and more in control of our thoughts, our ability to listen and communicate with others is likely to increase. It becomes easier to give more attention to the other person and to interact on a deeper level because we are more present.

6. You Are Likely to Live Longer!

"A research project has shown that meditators have significantly higher telomerase activity than non-meditators. Telomeres are the protective caps at the end of our chromosomes. Longer telomeres mean that you're also likely to live longer."